ビエールの天然記念物・トップ7

Magnificent site with a 360° panorama of the cross-border chain and valleys.

As always: with filled water bottles you can enjoy the climbs with peace of mind

Couserans is a Gascon country of mountains, hills, meadows, lakes, waterfalls and forests which is entirely part of the Pyrénées Ariégeoises Regional Natural Park. Among its 18 valleys located at the foot of the majestic Mount Valier, some remained landlocked until the recent past, which allowed them to maintain their own identity, such as the Bethmale valley. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was an overpopulated country whose small agricultural plots did not allow families to live, which is why the inhabitants had to show a lot of imagination to find survival activities. This is how some became “bear handlers”, peddlers of vanilla, fake stone, ice. Others became itinerant “raw distillers” or gold prospectors.

Superb Lers / Agnes sequence! Wild and authentic 🐮

Make sure you fill your water bottles at the base, be it in Massat/Le Port, or Aulus-les-Bains, or Vicdessos because there are no water points on the climb unless the café is open at l’Etang de Lers.

On wet ground, I found it complicated to manage the roots, the grease and the leaves 😕 On the descent, the lower pins the ice would not have been worse 🥴. Afterwards, I'm used to riding in the gravel of the South East, I'm not yet impregnated with the Ariegois terrain 🤣

Very pleasant ascent to the Col d'Agnès on a long slope with a beautiful open view.

Magnificent panorama from a summit of Cap du Carmil